Via Aesthetica

It's Not Easy Being Clean

2012-01-21T14:56:00.000+01:00

My photo of this diligent window washer is featured in National Geographic's online photo essay, "Your Photos of European Cities", along with many other exciting photos of Europe.

See more pics of windows on Via Vienna, "Sun, Shade or Tree—What is in Your Window to the World?"

Protect Both Copyrights and Our Rights

2012-01-20T14:09:00.000+01:00

*Update 21 Jan 2012:

"Antipiracy bills SOPA, PIPA shelved by Congress"

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the majority leader, announced via Twitter that the vote would be delayed.

But he indicated that the issue, which had been scheduled for a vote Tuesday, had not died."There's no reason that legitimate issues raised about Protect IP can't be resolved," he wrote, referring to the Senate bill by its shorthand name. "Counterfeiting & piracy cost 1000s of jobs yearly. Americans rightfully expect to be fairly compensated 4 their work."

Original post, 20 Jan 2012:

Please read the letter on the subject of the proposed bills in the US Congress, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA):

"An open letter to Washington from Artists and Creators"

While reading, consider that these laws will affect not only artists and creators, but all users of the Internet. Due to the wording of these laws, it has been suggested that:

You could possibly be found guilty of a criminal act and/or have your profile or a whole website deleted if you do, for example, something like upload a video to YouTube of your child dancing to music that happens to be playing in the background in your home, or if you unknowingly link to a website accused of copyright infringement—without due process of the law. These laws would go beyond simple enforcement of the law, but place the policing and judging of website users' activities into the hands of coporations, domain servers and websites, as entire websites could be shut down for any user's unauthorized activity. That would mean legitimate users of these sites could be deprived of their profiles and online property, as well.

If you think that the laws concering what is copyrighted and what is not are simple, think again:

Congress may take books, musical compositions and other works out of the public domain, where they can be freely used and adapted, and grant them copyright status again, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

- from: "Supreme Court Says Congress May Re-Copyright Public Domain Works" on wired.com, 18 Jan 2012

Copyright protection against piracy is a vital and important issue to corporations, creators and many others, and one that I support. It does appear, though, that Congress needs to further engage the discussion on this issue. While my confidence in politicians often wavers, my confidence in humanity, when propelled by steadfast inspiration to overcome perceived obstacles and arrive at positive solutions, is unyielding.

Occupy Your Mind

2012-01-17T17:17:00.000+01:00

"All understanding begins with our not accepting the world as it appears." - Susan Sontag*

"Either you think, or else others have to think for you and take power from you, pervert and discipline your natural tastes, civilize and sterlize you." - F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tender is the Night

photo by Tiffa Day, CC BY-NC 2.0

"Therefore, the seeker after the truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them, but rather the one who suspects his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration, and not to the sayings of a human being whose nature is fraught with all kinds of imperfection and deficiency. Thus the duty of the man who investigates the writings of scientists, if learning the truth is his goal, is to make himself an enemy of all that he reads, and, applying his mind to the core and margins of its content, attack it from every side. He should also suspect himself as he performs his critical examination of it, so that he may avoid falling into either prejudice or leniency...

Truth is sought for its own sake... Finding the truth is difficult, and the road to it is rough. For the truths are plunged in obscurity."

- Alhazen (Ibn al-Haytham), Aporias against Ptolemy

Then, to wonder: What defines truth? The truth to whose opinion? Where do our opinions come from? We assume they are always of our own creation. Do we question our opinions? They are, after all, ours—our judgments, our beliefs, our thoughts.

"The sound shivers through the walls, through the table, through the window frame, and into my finger.

These distraction-oholics. These focus-ophobics. Old George Orwell got it backward.

Big Brother isn't watching. He's singing and dancing. He's pulling rabbits out of a hat. Big Brother's holding your attention every moment you're awake.

He's making sure you're always distracted. He's making sure you're fully absorbed.

He's making sure your imagination withers. Until it's as useful as your appendix. He's making sure your attention is always filled.

And this being fed, it's worse than being watched. With the world always filling you, no one has to worry about what's in your mind. With everyone's imagination atrophied, no one will ever be a threat to the world."

- Chuck Palahniuk, Lullaby

image by katmary, CC BY-NC 2.0

"Alienation begins when culture divides me against myself, puts a mask on me, gives me a role I may or may not want to play. Alienation is complete when I become completely identified with my mask, totally satisfied with my role, and convince myself that any other identity or role is inconceivable...

The man who sweats under his mask, whose role makes him itch with discomfort, who hates the division in himself, is already beginning to be free."

- Thomas Merton, The Literary Essays of Thomas Merton

Can we change our awareness, what we think, how we think? What is really influencing our thoughts?

"We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves" - Buddha

* This quote has been attributed to both Alan C. Kay and Susan Sontag. Since it was noted (Educating for an Ecologically Sustainable Culture, C. A. Bowers) that Kay had quoted Sontag in his 1991 article for Scientific American Magazine, I have chosen to attribute the quote to Sontag, as well. Further elucidation on the source would be greatly appreciated.

un tango agradable

2012-01-16T00:27:00.001+01:00

IMG_7175, originally uploaded by tangobar-vienna.

Engaged in a rather pleasant tango experience at the Tangobar Vienna.

Summer Tiki Dreams

2012-01-13T14:32:00.002+01:00

Play, for your musical accompaniment to this post

Yes, it is that time again, winter—where dreams of tropical islands, tiki martinis and sultry heatwaves combine with longing for days and nights of dancing in fun and flirty dresses. Oh, to be swept away...

Until then, we take a little 'net cruise:

* First stop is to select a few pretty things out of FABSUGAR's gallery, "ALL THE GORGEOUS SPRING 2012 ADS SO FAR..."

* And then, inspired by Salvatore Ferragamo's spring and summer floral dresses, we hula ourselves on over to Le Tiki Lounge on Paris' rue de la Fontaine-au-Roi, cozy up with Martin Denny and a Mai Tai and shake out a Tahition 'ote'a.

I'm ready to go!

Gisele in Salvatore Ferragamo - Source FABSUGAR/Fashion Gone Rogue

Nave nave moe - Paul Gauguin 1894 Tahiti

The Writer at Work

2011-12-23T00:37:00.000+01:00

Upon the celebration of his 50th wedding anniversary, a reporter asked the writer E.B. White (Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, The Elements of Style): "To what do you owe the great success of your marriage?"

White answered: "My wife understands that when I am staring at the wall, I'm working."

Other views I've had have distracted me into taking a few photos, although somehow a lot of inspiration can come out of a simple, painted wall.

she turns to flowers: Tav Falco's Panther Burns at the Rodeo Bar

2011-12-14T01:06:00.000+01:00

Skip over to Catalina Caper's blogspot for a great write up + photos of Tav Falco and the Panther Burns' performance last month at the Rodeo Bar in NYC, where I joined Tav for a little tango:

she turns to flowers: Tav Falco's Panther Burns at the Rodeo Bar, 11/15/...

Musical performer, performance artist, actor, filmmaker, and photographer Tav Falco paid a rare visit to NYC last week...

Tav Falco in Grand Central Station, NYC

Cruising the Florida Jungle

2011-12-12T05:12:00.000+01:00

An autumn afternoon tempered the humid, subtropical climate of central Florida providing an excellent opportunity to set out from the docks of an historic, 19th century inn, lazily floating across the calm waters of Lake Dora and down its picturesque canal.

a turtle takes in the sun

Spanish moss hangs from the trees

an alligator peers above the waters

an egret

a blue heron

Polo, Palms and Pink Hibiscus

2011-12-04T21:11:00.001+01:00

A welcome sight: palm trees and architecture of Florida, during a
temperate, autumn visit.

I like the combination of this one: intimates, heart and hibiscus

Polo game in The Villages

New York Honky Tonk Tango

2011-11-21T01:37:00.001+01:00

My flight from Paris into NYC was smooth, with champagne, a vegetable curry and a few good flicks to accompany me en route. I came in to join Tav Falco on the final day of his November US tour with the Panther Burns for a cozy tango during a sold out performance at the Rodeo Bar, the oldest honky tonk in the city. Besides Tav Falco, himself, the band's line up included Peter Dark on guitar, Ken Stringfellow on bass and Giovanna Pizzorno on drums. Giovanna opened their set with a sultry belly dance to the song "Sympathy for Mata Hari", off their latest album Conjurations.

Left: View from the hotel room for the first night, close enough to the Rodeo Bar to engage in a nice nighttime stroll past fragrant restaurants wafting curried bliss out their doors.

A stop for lunch the next day at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station

Checking out the dining room before slipping back into the saloon.

NY behind bars: spending the second night in Greenwich Village

Jet lag hits...

I ended my three-day NY tour with near-complete recovery on Long Island — helped by an excellent fresh-herb omelet cooked up by Panther Burns' guitarist Peter Dark — before flying down to the land of lasting sun and palm trees.
Hopefully some pics or vids of the performance will pop up on the 'net!

There Is a Spell in Autumn

2011-11-09T15:52:00.000+01:00

There Is a Spell in Autumn

There is a spell in autumn early,
One all too brief, of an enchantment rare:
The nights are radiant and pearly,
The days, pellucid, crystal-clear.

Where played the sickle and fell the corn, a mellow,
A warm and breathless stillness reigns supreme;
Spanning the brown and idle furrow,
A dainty thread of cobweb gleams.

The birds have flown, we hear no more their clamour,
But winter's angry winds not soon will start to blow —
Upon the empty fields there pours the azure glow
Of skies that have not lost the warmth of summer

- Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev, 1897

All photographs taken in Viennese parks:

1st, Burggarten; 2nd and 3rd, Weghuberpark; 4th, Grete Rehor Park

Work, Sweet Work: Personalizing Your Space

2011-11-08T13:30:00.000+01:00

Just because you're on the job, doesn't mean you can't bring a little bit of home and personality into your workspace, regardless of the nature of your work. A little bit of thoughtfulness mixed with creativity and desire can go a long way.

Construction workers may not seem like a source of aesthetic inspiration, but after all, they are the ones creating our cities, our homes and the architectural wonders we admire. Here in Vienna I have often encountered the construction offices for work being done on the Liechtenstein Palace—a long-term project culminating with the 2013 opening of a museum featuring Classicist and Biedermeier art—and finally stopped to smell the flowers. This office and work space, like that of many construction sites, is a temporary structure outside, but that did not stop the workers from adding a personlized touch providing a cozy and colorful welcome to their space, and a fragrant one, at that.

While some might think this could be unnessarily costly or distracting, in "What's Your Office Style?", Forbes points out positive aspects for both workers and companies in personalizing space:

Meredith Wells, a researcher from the University of Eastern Kentucky who has examined people's relationships with their work spaces, says people who decorate their offices often have higher levels of job satisfaction and psychological well-being, leading to higher levels of employee morale and lower turnover.

"It sounds cliché," says Sam Gosling, a personality researcher at the University of Texas, Austin... "but the more research I've done, the more I've come to believe that what's going on outside the mind reflects what's going on inside the mind."

How have you personalized your workspace? Have you adapted it to your personality or have you chosen to define a separate one for work?

A few ideas:
Martha Stewart's "Elevated Workspace"
"10 Ways to Relaxify Your Workspace" by Steve Pavlina
"Top 10 reasons why happiness at work is the ultimate productivity booster" by Alexander Kjerulf, CHO

Awakening and the Permission to Be

2011-11-01T12:13:00.001+01:00

"Close to Porres in the morning" by Frank Jakobi

How the valley awakes. At two-fifteen in the morning there are no sounds except in the monastery: the bells ring, the office begins. Outside, nothing, except perhaps a bullfrog saying "Om" in the creek or in the guesthouse pond. Some nights he is in Samadhi; there is not even "Om." The mysterious and uninterrupted whooping of the whippoorwill begins about three, these mornings. He is not always near. Sometimes there are two whooping together, perhaps a mile away in the woods in the east...

Meanwhile, the most wonderful moment of the day is that when creation in its innocence asks permission to "be" once again, as it did on the first morning that ever was.

- Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander

"Misty summer night" by n0rthw1nd

The way to find the real "world" is not merely to measure and observe what is outside us, but to discover our own inner ground. For that is where the world is, first of all: in my deepest self. But there I find the world to be quite different from the "obligatory answers." This "ground," this "world" where I am mysteriously present at once to my own self and to the freedoms of all other men, is not a visible, objective and determined structure with fixed laws and demands. It is a living and self-creating mystery of which I am myself a part, to which I am myself my own unique door...

- Thomas Merton, Contemplation in a World of Action: Second Edition, Restored

Trude Fleischmann: A Casual Defiance of History

2011-10-14T22:20:00.000+02:00

Trude Fleischmann self-portrait, 1928 (Wien Museum)

The extensive and well-presented exhibition earlier this year at the Wien Museum, in Vienna, solidified Trude Fleischmann’s position not only as one of the most important Jewish female photographers of Austria, but as one of the most significant photographers of the 20th century.

Fleischmann launched her career at a time when Austrian women had just begun to assert themselves socially and professionally. She began her four-year course of photography studies in 1913 at Vienna’s Institute for Photography and Reproduction Techniques, just five years after the institute had opened its doors to women in 1908. Photography was an overwhelmingly male-dominated field, and leading photographers often disparaged women’s contributions: Influential Viennese photo-journalist Hermann Clemens Kosel even stated that women brought “the moral seriousness of art into absurdity”.

The exhibition, Trude Fleischmann –The Self-Assured Eye, covered Fleischmann’s Vienna period from 1920-1938, highlighting her exceptional studio portraits along with Alpine landscapes and street photography. The portraits show Fleischmann’s mastery of her art and a unique identification and understanding of her subjects. Her studio (at Ebendorfer St. 3 near City Hall) was the scene of many parties for her well-connected circle of friends, and frequented by the many artists, performers and intellectuals whom she photographed.

Fleischmann and her colleagues were in touch with the social, political and artistic movements afoot in Europe at the time. A significant part of this was the emerging status of women, growing out of necessity. During the World War I, with workers scarce, women took over traditionally male professions. After the war ended these women, many of whom were Jewish, continued their careers, exerting their independent spirit. Trude Fleischmann gave shape to this new self-assured woman with the revealing portrayals of her contemporaries, the success and popularity of her studio, and the devotion to her craft.

Portrait of Karl Kraus
Trude Fleischmann, 1930

At times expressive and bold, sensitive and delicate, personal and serious, Fleischmann brought not only her subjects' images onto the printed photograph, but their personality and essence as well. She deftly combined her finely-tuned sensibility with the emerging technology, notably in her choice of composition and cropping to accentuate personal or identifying characteristics of those captured. One notable example is an image from 1930 of Austrian writer and journalist Karl Kraus, in which the writer’s hands take precedence, his enigmatic face off to the left and largely cropped out of the frame.

Outstanding among her portraits are the motion studies of modern dancers, capturing the dynamic, sculptural poses and avant-garde costumes of this era of expanding female liberation, as the women proudly express their emergent personal and artistic freedoms. The portrait of Austrian stage actress, the Countess of Carnarvon Tilly Losch (née Ottilie Ethel Leopoldine Losch) is particularly enthralling, posed as ‘Princess Teablossom in the ballet, Whipped Cream’ (sounding like a ballet that would’ve enthralled Edward Gorey). The exhibition also includes the provocative nude portraits of the of dancer Claire Bauroff — photos considered scandalous in their time; upon public presentation in Berlin in 1925, they were censored and confiscated by the police. Advertising the 2011 exhibition, a larger-than-life image of the nude and relaxed Bauroff adorned the outside of the Wien Museum, in a casual defiance of history.

Exhibition catalog cover, with
Fleischmann's photo of Claire Bauroff

The exhibition followed Trude Fleischmann’s flight from Vienna to New York City, following the Anschluss in 1938 (Hitler's annexation of Austria) when the studios of other Jewish women photographers began to be “Aryanized” or their names and identities “deregistered”. These contemporaries included other successful Viennese photographers such as Edith Glogau, Grete Kollin, Trude Geiringer and Edith Barakovich, who were also shown in the exhibition, giving a taste of what yet lies to be discovered. In 1940 Fleischmann opened a studio in Manhattan’s theater district at 127 West 56th Street, successfully adapting to her new home and expanding into street portraiture. Just two years later she became an American citizen. Eventually she relocated out of the city into Putnam County, in the village of Brewster, New York. Now more than twenty years after her death in 1990, this was the first major exhibition of Fleischmann’s photographs, described by co-curator Anton Holzer as one of leading “forgotten women photographers”.

Ernst Matray (dancer, choreographer,
actor and director, seated) and
Katta Sterna (actress and dancer)
by Trude Fleischmann

“Strange as it sounds,” Holzer explains, “Trude Fleischmann was recognized in her time, but today as a reference point for young photographers, she is still a secret.” In the aftermath of World War II and the diaspora of Jews throughout the world, the pre-war lifestyle and culture that had flourished in Vienna was lost, as was even the memory of their very existence — not only with the destruction of photographs and negatives, but with the lost lives of the friends, family and relatives who knew the women and their work.

The exhibition was the continuation of a movement begun in the 1980s and 90s to recover the remaining and underrepresented contributions of Jewish culture in the years between the wars, as Austria then began to deal with this dark chapter of its history. “Forgetting is not a natural process,” Holzer emphasized. While much of the culture from that time has been lost there is still much to rediscover as we continue to reaquaint ourselves with these distinctive women, such as Trude Fleischmann, and the expressive lifestyles of those she photographed.

Catalog available online or in museum shop: Anton Holzer, Frauke Kreutler (eds.): Trude Fleischmann. Der selbstbewusste Blick. The Self-Assured Eye, Ostfildern-Ruit: Hatje Cantz, 2011.

A version of this article entitled, "The Self-Assured Eye", appeared earlier this year in the Vienna Review, published under my nom de plume, Gina Lee Falco.

The Aesthetic of Living

2011-10-04T16:56:00.002+02:00

The growing social and political unrest of late, with due cause, can naturally bring one to ponder the contributing factors to a "good life": the quality of life, standard of living, health of self and one's environment, economic factors both personal and societal, education, leisure, and so on. One almost needs to tap into some degree of spirituality or science—or expansion of perspective—to make sense of it all or keep an even keel about things.
There are diverse and complex factors that contribute to the overall well-being of an individual, the family, community and society. These all add up to enhance the enjoyment and experiences one has during his or her daily life: the aesthetic of living.
Questions arise of late as to the varying levels of responsibility the government has; also to the degree of corporate involvement, or replacement of government services, and the influence people have over these major factors. Maybe the answers are yet to be found; maybe they just need to arise.
Another poignant graphic statement going around the 'net (also see last post)

was connected by a wise tweeter to an article by author Robert Schlesinger entitled, "The Origins of That Eisenhower 'Every Gun That Is Made...' Quote". I recommend reading it for one perspective of the many going around, albeit an important one that encourages thought about what really does affect our daily lives and well being, beyond what we physically experience and interact with.

The article, as does the above graphic, quotes from a speech and conversation by Dwight D. Eisenhower—U.S. President from 1853-1961 and a five-star general in the US Army—upon the death of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin:

“Here is what I would like to say. The jet plane that roars over your head costs three quarter of a million dollars. That is more money than a man earning ten thousand dollars every year is going to make in his lifetime. What world can afford this sort of thing for long? We are in an armaments race. Where will it lead us? At worst to atomic warfare. At best, to robbing every people and nation on earth of the fruits of their own toil. Now, there could be another road before us...

read more, as he actually does goes into financial details of the costs as they affect everyday lives. As you read it, remember that the figures quoted are from 1953—what are the costs today? What are we losing? What has been sacrificed from the quality of our lives?
People may justify war or the use of military and covert actions out of the pain and suffering caused by a declared enemy, but when is it enough? The costs truly are deeper than mere economics, but a real cost to our humanity and to all life.

Faith in the Darkness

2011-10-02T17:25:00.002+02:00

A humorous statement going around the 'net recently:

sign source: Light at the End of the Tunnel Sign by UD
saying reference: Karen Linamen, Due to Rising Energy Costs, the Light at the End of the Tunnel Has Been Turned Off: How to Have a Happy, Fabulous Life Even When Your Circumstances Look Dim

has reminded me of an inspirational poem that pops into my head during difficult or uncertain times, one that supports the persistence of positive thinking and having a renewed perspective during our journey of life:

Faith

When you walk to the edge of all the light you have
and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown,
you must believe that one of two things will happen:
There will be something solid for you to stand upon,
or, you will be taught how to fly

© Patrick Overton
The Leaning Tree, 1975

A little humor can not only make us laugh, but remind us that there is always a new beginning ahead.

Discover more about:
Karen Linamen
Patrick Overton

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Colors of an Alpine Sunset

2011-08-31T21:43:00.000+02:00

Looking out over the hilltop village of Schoerfling toward the southern Lake Atter
landscape, from the Goldenes Schiff restaurant of the 18th-century Guesthouse Frickh.

A comment from aesethtics appreciator Euge on an earlier post, The Color of Water, inspired me this August to follow up on this exposé of an artist's appreciation of the many hues of Lake Atter (der Attersee), situated in the picturesque foothills of the Austrian Alps. Lounging around the wooden boathouse and dock of a 19-century villa provided the perfect opportunity to take some evening photographs as the setting sun and its lingering reach over the mountains cast shimmering gold and warming orange tones onto the evening sailboats and gently rolling water.

The fresh, sparkling, turquoise-blue water of Lake Atter in the daytime.

The setting sun starts its golden reach onto the clouds

Capturing Movements - Kinetism in Art

2011-07-29T20:29:00.009+02:00

Locomotive - Erika Giovanna Klien 1926, oil on canvas
(Photo © Sammlung Pabst)

Recently, the Lower Belvedere museum in Vienna showed work from a lesser-known 20th century art movement, that of Kinetism (German: Kinetismus), in their exhibition entitled DYNAMIC! Cubism / Futurism / KINETISM. Based on the Greek word for movement, kinesis, and not to be confused with kinetic art, it was not actually regarded as a movement itself; instead it was a classroom centered around ideals and challenges, contemporary issues and the avant-garde.

Shown in the exhibition alongside works of Cubism and Futurism, Kinetism was an artistic perspective developed in the context of European modernism. It was compelled by the desire for the renewal of art in the context of the thriving, urban setting of the early 20th century, with emerging technologies and a lifestyle faster-paced than ever before experienced. Motorization and urban expansion were well underway and people's social lives were developing along with these changes, with increasing levels of transportation and communication, avant-garde modern dance and theater, and emerging social liberations. The artists of this time and place visually abstracted these dynamic changes, including visual realizations of the increased urban noise and the Futurists' glorified beauty of speed.

Sculptural Consctruction of Noise and Speed - Giacomo Balla 1914-15,
reconstructed 1968 (Hirschhorn Museum, photo: Joe Loong CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Italian Futurists, neighbors to Vienna's home country of Austria, emphasized concepts of the future, including speed, technology, youth and industry in every medium of art. Their artistic concepts were represented in painting with a "universal dynamism", which seems at home in this exhibition with its Cubist and Kinetist comrades, and somehow seems at home in many of the spiritually conscious writings and quantum conceptualizations of today. As noted:

Objects in reality were not separate from one another or from their surroundings: "The sixteen people around you in a rolling motor bus are in turn and at the same time one, ten four three; they are motionless and they change places… The motor bus rushes into houses which it passes, and in their turn the houses throw themselves upon the motor bus and are blended with it."

Cubism—the avant-garde artistic movement with Pablo Picasso as a recognizable pioneer—also portrayed alternative perspectives and reflected the changing environment, as noted:

In cubist artworks, objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an abstracted form—instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater context. Often the surfaces intersect at seemingly random angles, removing a coherent sense of depth. The background and object planes interpenetrate one another to create the shallow ambiguous space, one of cubism's distinct characteristics.

The Man at the Café - Juan Gris 1914
oil and adhesive (Wikimedia Commons)

The three dynamic perspectives of Cubism, Futurism and Kinetism merge in the exhibition into a distinct purview of modernism and its influence. Pioneering Kinetism was Franz Cizek, professor at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts (today's School of Applied Art), who declared Kinetism as, "modern life pulsed through activism." Rightfully shown in this exhibition alongside the likes of Fernand Léger, El Lissitzky and Pablo Picasso were Cizek's students, notably Erika Giovanna Klien, Elisabeth Karlinsky, Marianne/My Ullmann and Wolfgang Leopold Rochawanski.

"Everything is, everything is moving" — Cizek declared to his students, reflecting on the dynamic nature of the world with inspiration from the natural sciences and philosophy. Cizek's teaching concept can be summarized with these steps (Rochowanski 1922):

The awakening of emotions (Expressionism)
The awakening of the brain (Cubism)
The awakening of the eyes (Kinetism)
New feeling, new thinking, new vision

The students were encouraged to utilize a multidisciplinary foundation in their creative processes, seizing influences from art, science, aesthetics and cultural history to form their own artistic language and develop a vibrant creative network within the intellectual climate of Vienna. Embracing modern ideals of progress with the desire for the renewal of art, the students were receptive to the environment they were in and which Cizek created. Instead of recreating a single moment in space or time, they were capturing dimensional movements on the canvas.

Also within the contextual thought there at the beginning of the century was a search for the "'laws of the spirit', a new spirituality played an important role in Vienna in 1900. After 1918, Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophical worldview was booming." [the Belvedere] This inspired the artists, such as the Swiss expressionist painter also included in the exhibition, Johannes Itten. Itten, inspired in part by Cizek and during his years spent in Vienna led his own private art school, was a student himself of Eastern religions and theosophy. His spiritual searchings, which included the practice of meditation, naturally influenced his art, including his color theories and image analyses. Itten's teaching principles included supporting the creative impulses of his students, even to the point of not correcting their work individually.

Balancing inner and outer movements was characteristic of Kinetism, whether it be dispaying the dinstinctive interpretations of color, the motions of a bird in flight or modern dancer, or musical expressions alighting on the canvas. It was, as Itten suggested, a matter of "wanting to represent concentrations of thought."

Self Portrait (Selbstbildnis) - Johannes Itten 1917
oil on cardboard (Photo ©VBK Wien, 2011)

Diving Bird (Tauchender Vogel) - Erika Giovanna Klien
1939, oil on canvas (Photo ©Belvedere, Wien)

With art, as with our imagination, anything is possible. These personal interpretations of the rhythms of life in our kinetic world produced paintings that at first might seem completely abstract, but then fall into place as the observer falls into their natural rhythms—such as Klien's Abstraction: a horse and carriage forever caught in multiple moments of time and space.

Abstraction - Erika Giovanna Klien 1926
gouache and watercolor on canvas (Photo ©Yale Univ. Art Gallery, 2010)

From Harald Krejci and Kerstin Jesse of the Belvedere (translated from the German, viele Entschuldigungen für meine Übersetzung):

Within the term Viennese Kinetism today, we combine different artistic positions from the period between 1918 and 1929. The common feature is the search for a synthesis of the inner expression with Cubist and Futurist conceptual forms, in order to take the modern living environment into account. Elementary image forms are rhythmicized through lines of movement and display superimposed dynamic motion sequences.
The dynamics of the city, the new expressions of dance, the mechanization of the environment and the reflection on the processes of perception formed the basis for an over ten-year history of abstraction in Vienna. Central to the network of young artists was Franz Cizek's Department of Ornamental Morphology at the Vienna Arts and Crafts School, whose motto was:
"Not to teach, not to learn —

allow growth from one's own roots"

„Nicht lehren, nicht lernen - wachsen lassen aus dem eigenen Wurzeln“

Artwork attributed to Cizek's school

*Read more on Erika Giovanna Klien and Kinetism on Colorful Animation Expressions

Paths of the Romantic Imagination

2011-07-10T13:00:00.006+02:00

A photograph I took of a 19th century architectural arcade in Vienna is used as the leading photo in this video by the Sydney Opera House. They are hosting the world-renowned Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra this autumn in Australia.

Watch the video!

Keeping Europe Clean

2011-06-29T17:27:00.005+02:00

Vienna's fountain on Schwarzenberg Square and the Russian Monument

Die Hochstrahlbrunnen und das Heldendenkmal der Roten Armee am Schwarzenbergplatz

With a relatively low unemployment rate and an overall high quality of living, Vienna has been rated on top of the best cities in the world to live. Cleanliness seems to support both factors: they even stop to clean the fountains. Apparently the circular pool with 442 jets of water in this fountain are not enough to keep it squeaky clean. An appreciation for culture and all of its attributes is something either ingrained in the people or just in the air around here...or in the water. ;)

The fountain was built in 1873 to celebrate the first water pipeline into the city from the Styrian Alps—yes, we drink fresh, clean Alpine water out of our tap (although bottled water still has its popularity). The fountain does have deeper significance, though:

the largest, central fountain represents a year;
4 medium jets on the inner stone island are for the four seasons;
12 high jets are for the 12 months;
30 jets shoot up from the inner island for the days of the month;
6 fountains on the island + the island itself are for the seven days of the week;
24 low jets are for the hours of the day;
365 small side jets around the edge of the pool are for the days of the year.

At night the fountain is lit in red, blue and green.

With a high temperature on this day of 84°F/29°C, the workers in there may have wished the fountain was active. Maybe the city should offer a big jar of organic bath suds for the workers.

Encountering Sheikhs, Carriages and Ferraris

2011-06-27T12:08:00.002+02:00

Check out my new site!

Via Vienna
Discreet Visions of Vienna

A photoblog for those who appreciate the finer aspects of culture from an international, cosmopolitan city with exquisite architecture to discover, rose gardens to linger in, narrow cobblestone streets to wander down and a diverse mix of residents and visitors to mingle with—where the East meets the West in Europe, and the past waltzes gracefully into the future.

The Mobile Urban Garden

2011-06-25T23:21:00.002+02:00

For the gardener on the go or who just wants to follow the sun: the mobile urban garden, cultivated conveniently in a shopping cart packed full of fresh herbs, vegetables and oxygen-giving plants.

House of the Yellow Eagle

2011-05-30T02:12:00.001+02:00

"House of the Yellow Eagle", #7 Greek Ln., Vienna - Haus "zum gelben Adler", Griechengasse 7, Wien

Built in the late 18th century this Baroque corner house in Vienna's central First District stands at the top of a rustic staircase, leading down to where Greek traders used to come up from the Danube Canal. Nestled in the façade is a statue of Mary Immaculate, and hanging off the defined corner is a Rococo lantern, lighting the way for all weary travellers. Inside, the lobby features a stone basin with a lion's head spout and has retained the original flagstone floor.

Viewing this building with it's worn façade and aged lantern—lasting through wars, weather and time—one can almost picture the Greek traders coming in from their journey hauling their wares. A glance off to the left and down the staircase, however, places one immediately into the present and onto Schweden Square, referred to locally as Schwedenplatz, which is separated from the canal only by the busy one-way Ring St.

The view from alongside the top of the staircase, onto a part of Schwedenplatz.

The canal is just before the background building. Ice cream eaters are settled in mid-right.

Pedestrians, loiterers and street musician in front of a gelateria.

Tranportation station on Schwedenplatz, with the "U" signalling an entrance

to the underground/subway.

Schwedenplatz is a popular transportation hub and meeting place—especially attracting Viennese and tourists alike with an Italian ice cream parlour—with people coming and going, happily loitering, or resting while sorting out future plans. The architecture ranges across time from the old baroque corner house to the new port station. With multiple access points, the station was built with a rather ingenious utilization of negative space, extending off the side of the Ring Street and over the deeper set canal promenade, still allowing for pedestrians and bicyclists to stroll on through while the ships come in.

The Danube Canal with ship at port: staircase to port café from Ring St., right side.

Staircase leading down to promenade; white structure

mid-center is the new port building, with an entrance off the

Ring St. from the right.

View of promenade and port station, by another entrance

Still lingering around this cozy little building, I am tempted to visit its current featured occupant, a hair and nail salon, just out of historical architectural respect. I can't bring myself to stray from my faithful sessions with my coiffurist Werner, though, so I stand appreciating the continued use of these, as one local called them "quaint old places" lying around this capital city. This juxtaposition of the old and the new, often the being-restored and the being-built, is what makes Vienna—and so many other amazing world-class cities—a true icon of living style. Not discarding what is past or "used", but incorporating it and using it while our ever-forward lives move on, is a concept just now coming around again with words like sustainability and green floating around. As thoughts of the centuries of people and architecture swirl around my head, dancing with the sights and sounds of today and thoughts of the future far and near, maybe the appropriate word is just one: timeless.

Ice cream parlour in 20th century building. To the right is the Baroque corner house,

up the staircase. Between that building and the curved one runs the narrow Greek Ln.

(Griechengasse):

A look down the Greek Ln. from the direction of the

Baroque corner house, and of a fellow explorer, armed with

camera and tripod

Catwalking

2011-05-22T17:14:00.006+02:00

Video from a fashion show I was in recently, as a part of the Webster University 30th Anniversary Ball held in Vienna's Palais Auersperg on 12 May. The fashions are by alumnus Aleksandar Zabunovic and the models are all students, alumni, faculty or spouses thereof. Hair by Nude Hair and makeup by Lancôme.
It had been a little while since the last show I've been in, but I managed well enough showing two dresses from the spring/summer collection. The pieces felt light and sensual as I slinked down the catwalk, which enhanced Aleksandar's distinctive, sleek designs.

photo from Webster University Alumni Office

An Oilless Life

2011-05-20T14:11:00.005+02:00

A well-written response by an anonymous reader, to the concerns expressed in an AP news article about gas prices in the US:

Let the oil companies and whoever else is profiting off our dependence on gas, shoot themselves in the foot and take others with them. I can get used to walking, taking the bus, riding a bike or horse, growing my own vegetables, sewing my own clothes etc. I can probably even partner with my neighbors and learn to take care of farm animals for milk, eggs, fibers. My dependence on them will eventually lead me to change my habits and therefore reduce or annihilate my need for them. I'll be healthier as a result, saving me money as I need less medical care and I'll have the satisfaction of having taken care of myself and family without dependence on those who seek to take advantage of others and while I'm at it, I'll throw out my television, use household items including furniture from long ago that were made far better than they are today. This in turn will cut back on waste. Go ahead greedy people--put yourself and everyone else out of business. I'm done with you........

While I don't condone any act of one shooting oneself in any body part, the message is clear in relationship to overcoming perceived adversity to improving our lives and those of others. Even if it is not possible to make such stated changes in our established lives and routines, we can still choose to take advantage of the many opportunities that adversity offers.

When written in Chinese the word "crisis" is composed of two characters - one represents danger and the other represents opportunity.

~John F. Kennedy, address, 12 April 1959

Museum Tango

2011-05-16T20:39:00.006+02:00

Tav Falco and I were invited by Vienna's Museum for Applied Art (MAK) and Spike Art Quarterly to DJ an hour of our tango favorites and dance to a few of the songs on Thursday evening, the 12th of May. This was the opening night of Fruits, Flowers and Clouds, a contemporary art fair at the museum presented by Spike Magazine

After setting up in the fair's Bar Helene, we shared with the art patrons a wide selection of tango music, from the old style of canyengue to classic Carlos DiSarli and Osvaldo Pugliese and contemporary pieces by Gotan Project and Bajofondo Tango Club.

We glided across the floor on five songs, consisting of some tango, milonga and vals, and then relaxed afterwards with champagne and friends.

All photos in this post by Eduardo Hernandez. More photos viewable, by Daria Klimova.

intimate public space

2011-05-02T16:45:00.004+02:00

courtyard restaurant seating
seen on stiftgasse - neubau district, vienna

taking a break from returning the cart, perhaps?

Lair of the DJ

2011-04-24T15:40:00.001+02:00

Nestled inside the family home in the Swiss Alps, situated on a hilltop overlooking scenic Lake Lucerne, was the temporary resting and rehearsal space for the "rogue male", himself, Tav Falco. Roving around the lair of our host, the DJ Wicked Wiggler of Memphisto Productions, and his personal effects naturally produced a little photo essay, while Mr. Falco readied for the upcoming Panther Burns show in Lucerne.

Panther Burns in Lucerne

2011-04-23T13:11:00.001+02:00

A few photos from the recent performance of Tav Falco and the Panther Burns in Lucerne (Luzern), Switzerland. The concert was held in the Sedel, a former prison now a music and studio center. Maybe a photo or two of my tango with Tav will surface from the depths of the 'net.

Giovanna, warming up with a bellydance

Tav Falco, himself

Grégoire Garrigues, guitar

Laurent Lanouzière, bass

Raffaele Santoro, keyboards

Giovanna Pizzorno, drums

Opening masking‧surfaces

2011-04-22T22:00:00.007+02:00

Many thanks to everyone who came out to our recent vernissage!

Mingling with urban explorer Duncan J. D. Smith and

man-about-town Manfred Weierer - Photo Elisabeth Knass

Introducing the photographs with Ksenia Kouvaeva

- Photo: Elisabeth Knass

The exhibition of photographs—featuring my architectural façade details contrasting portraits by Ksenia Kouvaeva—is at the Stern Studio in Vienna for a limited time, and is available for viewing by appointment. Stern Studio hosts monthly exhibitions and is located near Vienna's Prater.

A few façades - Photo Elisabeth Knass

Click here to see more photos from the event. You can also view some in Stern Studio's Facebook album.

With Wolfgang Humer, Dorotheum art broker

- Photo: Tav Falco

Photography Exhibition

2011-04-08T22:17:00.002+02:00

masking‧surface

photography by

Ksenia Kouvaeva and I presented at Stern Studio

vernissage 18 April at 18:00

www.sternstudio.at

located in Vienna's Second District at Mayergasse 7
by Praterstern

Tribute to the Unknown Artist

2011-04-04T13:57:00.001+02:00

Amerika Haus - Vienna, Austria
Right: Keith Haring; Left: ?

I'll Take the Green Path

2011-03-20T16:31:00.036+01:00

A walk near the edge of town, in the vicinity of a Wien Energie hazardous waste and sewage sludge incinerator; Vienna, Austria.

While Wien Energie advertises "Good Air For All Viennese" ("Gute Luft fur alle WienerInnen"), they apparently spend too much time in their offices and autos, and not enough walking outside near this incinerator, like I unfortunately did upon this occasion. The sickening, unnatural smell in the air was one I had not encountered before and would like to further avoid. The traffic did not improve upon the experience. As my incinerator experience is limited, though, I will have to admit that maybe it could have been worse.
The goal of sustainably handling energy, transportation and waste disposal with positive environmental, health-related and aesthetic results is complex yet admittedly achievable.

This building is part of the MVA Pfaffenau high-tech waste processing and incineration plant, near the Wien Energie incinerator. They advertise themselves on their site as, "Guarantor for sustainable waste disposal and utilisation, having an effective share in a better ambience." Nifty building, albeit a bit angular and industrial; hopefully it doesn't incinerate itself.

Lion Ice Cream

2011-03-18T16:22:00.002+01:00

Noticing the little things, the details of the day:

Architectural detail of an apartment building, with a nice combination of an ice cream parlor and jeweler's shop, in Vienna, Austria.

Revealing Faith

2011-02-26T20:27:00.012+01:00

"Faith is a bird that feels dawn breaking and sings while it is still dark." - Rabindranath Tagore

"What is Faith? When your good deed pleases you and your evil deed grieves you, you are a believer." -Prophet Muhammad

"To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible." - St. Thomas Aquinas

Revealing

(excerpt)

Overpowering reason

And disbelief, releasing

Concepts of reality

And imagination.

Overpowering thought and being

A presence of knowing:

Forgotten.

Sing your passions everyday,

Surrender to your beliefs

In actions, devotion and peace;

Live them, beyond the

Constraints of necessity.

Release the comforts

Of security, the comfort

Of searching, losing excuses

To the exceptions of

Faith, boundless...

~ Via Angeline Kalí

"The sacred attitude is, then, one of reverence, awe and silence before the mystery that begins to take place within us when we become aware of our innermost self. In silence, hope, expectation, and unknowing, the man of faith abandons himself to the divine will: not as an arbitrary and magic power whose decrees must be spelled out from cryptic ciphers, but as to the stream of reality and life itself. The sacred attitude is, then, one of deep and fundamental respect for the real in whatever new form it may present itself."
-Thomas Merton, The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation

First three quotes encountered on Steve McCurry's post, "A Matter of Faith"

Photographing the Truth of the Situation

2011-02-12T21:18:00.004+01:00

On a recent beautiful but uninspiring day, I went out on one of my photo walks—usually marvelling at the details of Viennese architecture, culture and urban planning—only to find that my gaze inevitably kept falling downwards. Despite my disagreeable gaze, I was compelled to continue this walk, letting the curves and paths of the urban environment guide my way, and my reactive emotions and senses propell my experience and direction.
At first I was disappointed with myself that I was not taking advantage of the fortunes of good weather and filling up my camera with photos, but inspiration took hold when I remembered a comment I once read by the ever-insightful Bono:

When I was 10, I learned what unlocks creativity. We were studying William Butler Yeats, one of the great poets of the 20th century, and my teacher explained that there was a period when Yeats had writer's block. I put my hand up in class and asked, "Why didn't he write about that?" It was like, "Oh, shut up." I've since learned that there's something to being truthful. The Scriptures say the truth will set you free. The truth is at the root of every piece of creativity. So if you're truthful about your situation, whatever it is as an artist—whether it's despair, whether it's hope, whether it's ambition—suddenly you're there.

So I made the best of my situationist derive, selections of which follow along with some more photographs of unintentional inspiration.
(click each photo to enlarge or view gallery In Situ)

* View more photographs In Situ

Streets of Vienna: Fleischmarkt

2011-02-01T21:46:00.001+01:00

Accessory boutique in the Julius Meinl coffee building

The city of Vienna, Austria is virtually an open-air architectural museum. Stroll down any street and you are bound to find some piece of architectural interest from the most intriguing details to outstanding buildings and façades. Located in the city's central First District this street called Fleischmarkt is no exception, even in the first couple of blocks (click each photo to enlarge):

Fleischmarkt #1: the "Orendihof", a.k.a. "Residenzpalast" (Residence Palace), housing apartments, businesses and an intimate theater, die Wiener Kammerspiele (literally, "The Vienna Intimate Theater"). Building architect Arthur Baron 1909-1910.

Fleischmarkt #3-5: Building originally for the Steyrermühl Printing Co., housing apartments, businesses and a supermarket. Architect Arthur Baron 1913-14.

Fleischmarkt #14 (directly across from #3-5—note the reflections in the windows of the horizontal photo above): Apartment building + businesses, built in 1899 by Czech architect Franz Olbricht. Considered a striking example of Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture with its gold leaves and twin sculptural guards, Olbricht combined neo-baroque elements and Secessionist motifs in his façade design.

Fleischmarkt #7: Julius Meinl, known especially for their coffees and jams, opened their first store at this location in 1862. The façade of this building, dating to 1899 (architect Max Conrad Kropf) depicts the story of coffee importation to Europe, from harvesting the beans to enjoying a cup in a Viennese coffeehouse.

They have since moved their store to another street in Vienna, the Graben, and produce their coffees locally in Vienna and in Vicenza, Italy.

Fleischmarkt #9: Haus mit Muttergottes Relief (House with Mother of God Relief) — dating to the 17th century, this building features the characteristic mix of occupants along with a cozy locale on the corner highlighting Erdinger wheat beer.

Fleischmarkt #13: Griechenkirche zur heiligen Dreifaltigkeit (Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity). Situated in the former Greek Quarter and replacing a simpler Greek church from the 18th century, this ornate church was built from 1856-1858 by the Danish-Austrian architect Theophil Hansen, after a study of Byzantine art in Athens.

In the above photograph, the "House with Mother of God Relief" is visible on the left side and on the right, with the red banner, is the Mandalahof. Providing a peaceful contrast to the name of the street — in English, Fleischmarkt means "meat market" — the Buddhist-centered Mandalahof contains tranquil apartments, a seminar center and therapy rooms. They also host mind- and body-centered classes such as meditation, yoga and Qi Gong.

Fleischmarkt 18: The Toleranzhaus (Tolerance House) — situated directly across from the impressive Greek Church and next to the peaceful Mandalahof, the name of this building is taken from the church's pre-history. The earlier 18th century church was built after Kaiser Franz Joseph II's 1782 Edict of Tolerance, stated to bring about religious unity. The inscription across the façade loosely translates as (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm happily tolerant of corrections):

"Perishable is this home, however Joseph's posterity never. He gave us tolerance; it gave immortality".

"Vergänglich ist dies Haus, doch Josephs Nachruhm nie. Er gab uns Toleranz, Unsterblichkeit gab sie."

Capital City Skyline

2011-01-15T00:01:00.004+01:00

A colorful contrast to the monument of Archduke Charles at Heldenplatz.

The Vienna skyline is unlike that of many other capital cities of the world. Instead of being littered with crowded skyscrapers, the architectural composition of Vienna is of a more human scale—or that of an elevated humanity, with spires, domes and angels reaching to the heavens. Even in the busy districts where these photos were taken, full of palaces, apartment buildings and businesses, one doesn't have to look far to look up. In fact, with Vienna's skyline you can actually see the sky.

Palais Herberstein

Apartment building alongside City Hall

Left photo: City Hall

Right photo: Tilted buildings along the Danube Canal

L: Ober Bank; Mid-right: Arnold Schoenberg Center

State Opera House

View of St. Stephan's Cathedral in the center of the city

Center: Otto Wagner's Anker Haus

Apartment building detail

Hofburg Palace and St. Michael's Square

Heldenplatz in the late evening, with the spire of City Hall
in the distance.

Gardens of Toulouse

2011-01-07T16:06:00.003+01:00

While trekking around and photographing the amazing architecture and narrow streets of Toulouse, France, frequent stops for rest, relaxation, and boulangerie picnics in the city's many gardens is not only needed, but adds an additional degree of enjoyment and appreciation of what Toulouse has to offer its residents and visitors.

Fortunately these gardens and parks are plentiful, from the expansive Jardin des Plantes — with swans and ducks lazily swimming in a pond, roaming peacocks and chickens, and games and rides for children to enjoy — to the tranquil Jardins Royal (complete with a camera-shy tai chi practitioner), and many other spots, both small and large, for the wandering-weary or nature-lover to enjoy. (Click photos to enlarge)

Jardin des Plantes

Jardin Royal

Canal du Midi

Place Saint-Etienne

2011-01-04T01:21:00.006+01:00

During my December walk in Toulouse, I happened upon the urban expanse of Place Saint-Etienne and its eponymous cathedral. With the first construction dating to the 13th century, the cathedral anchors the Place with grace and solidity, its austere bell tower reaching to the heavens.
Apartments, businesses and shops surround the rest and lead off down the Rue de la Croix Baragnon, with more elegant boutiques, busy cafes and inviting courtyards.

I was led into the Place down the curved Rue Pierre de Fermat — a living history of architecture in itself — which opened onto this place of an artist's inspiration.
Click photos to enlarge and go to gallery.

Click individual photos to view larger

Click here to view all Architecture of Toulouse photos

L'Architecture de Toulouse

2011-01-01T21:09:00.011+01:00

Cozy cafés in which to linger away the afternoon, cobblestoned streets lined with decorative villas and buildings artfully worn beyond the abilities of aesthetic intention:

An architectural walk through the city of Toulouse. Situated in southwestern France directly between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the city of Toulouse is known for its narrow streets and distinctive brick architecture. The Mediterranean influence shows not only in architectural details such as tile roofs, but is enjoyed in the pleasant weather experienced on days such as the one on this photographic journey.

View all Architecture of Toulouse photos

Chez Philippe

2010-12-25T01:09:00.008+01:00

Retro interior design in the home of Philippe Lombardi, co-founder of the vinyl-only label French BANG! Records in Toulouse. A perfect blend of personal touches and classic vintage pieces equals lavish and lasting style.

View all photos in gallery here. A preview follows:

View more photos in gallery or slideshow here

Tango Rock 'n' Roll

2010-12-15T17:12:00.001+01:00

Rock 'n' Roll Tango in Paris — I have a dance onstage with Tav Falco and the UNapproachable Panther Burns at Les Combustibles.

Connecting

2010-11-28T15:13:00.007+01:00

I caress

These thoughts
And hold them

In anticipation

I listen
And I feel

The Uneven Museum

2010-11-20T23:35:00.077+01:00

As you walk down the unassuming side street in the Third Distrct of Vienna, you wouldn't expect to turn the corner and see the architectural marvel and masterpiece of unique design that is the KunstHaus Hundertwasser Museum. Built from 1989-1991 and designed by Austrian artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser, the KunstHaus (literally "Art House") is a vibrant, living representation of organic design and individuality, of the personality of the architect/designer undulating forth to the viewers and visiters. A former Thonet furniture factory, the KunstHaus is an art musuem housing works of Hundertwasser himself, plus an array of temporary exhibitions—Picasso, Miró, Keith Haring, Man Ray et al. The building exemplifies the definition of the museum as a work of art itself.

Hundertwasser also livened up another part of the district with his eponymous apartment building he designed with Joseph Krawina, an act he did gratis to "prevent something ugly from going up in its place". He was an environmentally conscious individual and this shows forth not only through his artwork, but the building, as well. Hundertwasser applied a natural feel to the architecture by his inimitable style, with not only a minimal use of straight lines, but the addition of trees themselves—tree tenants, as he called them—growing from the inside of the building and out into the fresh air, their comfortable abodes a permanent part of the interior, and exterior, architecture. Before entering the buidling, after taking in all of the architectural details of the façade, if you let your gaze fall down on the sidewalk you will notice another purposeful element providing an organic feel: the sidewalk has waves.

Entering the museum, you soon notice this theme is continued into the lobby, and throughout the whole building itself. Friendensreich Hundertwasser explains this uneven floor best himself:

ABOUT THE UNEVEN FLOOR

The flat floor is an invention of the architects. It fits engines — not human beings.

We do not only have eyes to see and ears to hear and noses to smell. We also have a sense for the touch of our hands and our feet.

If a man is forced to walk on flat floors as they were planned thoughtlessly in designers' offices, estranged from man's age-old relationship and contact to earth — a decisive part of man withers and dies. This has catastrophic consequences for the soul, the equilibrium, the well being and the health of man. Man's ability to experience ceases and he becomes disabled, mentally and organically.

An uneven and animated floor means to recover dignity of man, which has been violated in our unnatural and hostile urban grid system.

The uneven floor becomes a symphony, a melody for the feet and brings back natural vibrations to man.

Architecture should elevate and not subdue man. It is good to walk on uneven floors and regain our human balance. - Hundertwasser, April 1991

And before you think how difficult it must be to walk on such a floor, the contrary is actually true: I, wearing my knee-high, high-heeled boots, glided across the tiled floor with ease and enjoyed every symphonic step with a few giggles and a smile.

The sound of falling water provides a soothing soundtrack to your journey in the stairwell

"If man walks in nature's midst, then he is nature's guest and must learn to behave as a well-brought-up guest." - Friedensreich Hundertwasser

KunstHaus courtyard; note the uneven green roof, below.

Also check out the excellent post on Hundertwasser on Landscape+Urbansism for more about his various architectural works.

Love, friendship, and conjugal bliss

2010-11-08T00:01:00.006+01:00

The pleasure was mine, recently, to attend the vernissage at Vienna's Kunsthalle Project Space of works by maestros of light and image, David McDermott and Peter McGough. The exhibition features a series of cyanotypes, collected items, and four short films.

The space, open to the public with free admission, consists of a rectangular glass pavilion designed in 2001 by architect Adolf Krischanitz. Krischanitz, a freelance Austrian architect, said in an apropos remark that, "Pavilions represent the beauty of the temporary; presenting themselves as transitory phenomena in the 'wrong' place, they perhaps help to create a right awareness."

David McDermott (L) and Tav Falco (R) in front of In secret shall it mourn
note: the date on the tombstone is exactly 100 years prior to the vernissage -
cyanotype © McDermott and McGough; photo © Via Kali

Housed in the "beauty of the temporary", the exhibition transports us to a world experienced and expressed by McDermott and McGough through cyanotypes taken with a vintage camera that is, as Peter McGough himself indistinctly noted, "an old one" with a 4x5 negative. The excellent quality of the cyanotypes create an atmospheric texture, an ambience distinct, yet approachable; comforting and intriguing. The photographs, of their former home in Ireland at 26 Sandymount Lane, take us through the lush and mysterious countryside, and inside and around their home, one of apparent endless wonder and interest. The exhibition is enhanced by several glass-covered tables showing items—such as photographs, antique tins, items of clothing and jewelry, and their own publications—that aid in bringing the visitor closer into their world. The films heighten this unique experience, showing "moving pictures" of an Irish manor; a classic, art deco-era story of love and longing; an artful take on perfecting a scene; and the mini-masterpiece Mean to Me, featuring Linus Roache and Agyness Deyn.

The beauty of their, and our, experience shows even in their list of titles for the cyanotypes (each dated both the years 1917 and 2010), which, when read, create a life of their own in poetry:

1. In secret shall it mourn

2. What eyes these long, long labyrinths dare explore

3. Love, friendship, and conjugal bliss

4. A secret of pensive pleasure

5. And, wrapt in clouds

6. Each fine feeling as it flows

7. Each unhewn mass of living stone

8. And high delicious revelry
...

McDermott and McGough—attributed to the proclamation, "I've seen the Future and I'm not going"—spoke passionately at the vernissage of a lifestyle which shuns corporate intrusion, especially in their attire, and of preserving the richly diverse past. Or as David McDermott wished, that we would each pick a year of the past—as one would "go into the woods and pick a bird or a tree"—and preserve that year, living it. But don't think that their work is a result of just living in the past and denying the fullness and richness that we believe the present to be. These works transcend time itself, providing a personal and idyllic view of a time and place, mistakenly elusive, that waits for us—invites us—if we choose to forgo our accustomed and habitual endeavors and simply enter...

Viennale Lusthaus Fest

2010-11-05T20:23:00.023+01:00

Photos from the recent party thrown at the Lusthaus by the Viennale International Film Festival—a two-week festival held every October since 1960 in Vienna. Translated as "Pleasure House" and situated in the expansive Prater park, the

Raffaele and Giovanna at the Lusthaus

Lusthaus was built from 1781-83, replacing the former structure which stood in these former hunting grounds of Emperor Maximilan II since 1560. The Haus today hosts a restaurant along with special events and festivities, keeping to Kaiser Franz Joseph's desire to have the Prater, and the Lusthaus, "open to everyone and freely" available.

A visit by Tav Falco and the Panther Burns' bellydrummer extraordinaire Giovanna Pizzorno—along with keyboardist extraordinaire Raffaele Santoro (Darshan Chillout), who also joined the Panther Burns onstage for their performance on the Danube Canal—lived the Kaiser's words to their fullest, mingling with the merry Viennese themselves, and revelling in the colorful and festive atmosphere, food and wine.

Tav Falco and fellow revellers

The Lusthaus experience

Giovanna conjuring the Roman reptilian spirits of the night

Tango Encounters

2010-11-04T16:56:00.004+01:00

I encountered these wonderful shoes on the oh-so elegant and eloquent blog of Molly and the Princess—ready to go straight from bicycling to an autumn tango in the leaves!

To complete the experience, the post directly prior to that one features some of my photographs of Vienna's Süssi Salon de Thé Français, a perfect place for an intimate tango tea?

Reflections of a tea encounter at Süssi in Vienna

Conjuring the Cover

2010-11-03T23:18:00.005+01:00

As if the fine music wasn't enough by itself, another reason to pick up the latest CD by Tav Falco and Panther Burns — CONJURATIONS: Séance for Deranged Lovers — is for the fine photographic cover art, namely of ME! on the back, a photo taken by Mr. Falco, Himself. A special portrait I have taken of Tav Falco also awaits you inside...

Also deserving special mention are the excellent portraits of band members Grégoire Garrigues, Laurent Lanouzière and the lovely Giovanna Pizzorno, by Holger Lang and Jean-Baptiste Mondino, plus Mr. Lang's conjuring cover itself.

Tav Falco - Panther Burns "Gentleman in Black"

2010-10-31T00:02:00.006+02:00

Tav Falco and Panther Burns on the Vienna Bayou, 29 Oct 2010, for the Viennale International Film Festival and 5th anniversary of Ray Film Magazine ~ performing the song "Gentleman in Black" from their latest album, CONJURATIONS: Séance for Deranged Lovers.

Also be sure to check out this clip of "Snatch it Back", and other videos I'm hosting by Tav Falco and Panther Burns. See all of Gio' Bellydrums' uploads on YouTube for more Tav and PB videos.

Ein Sommertraum

2010-10-20T23:11:00.007+02:00

"A summer dream"

Stopping for a moment to reflect upon the beautiful, sunny days in summer past — and dreaming of summer to come — in the rose-filled Volksgarten of Vienna, one of many oases this capital city provides.

An Urban Autumn

2010-10-12T00:31:00.019+02:00

Welcoming autumn…

The change of the seasons paints a new palette of colors, even on the urban environment.

Art and nature can beautify even the simplest setting, providing blissful moments as we pass along our usual streets, on our usual ways, or on the way to encounter the unexpected...

Beauty and bliss are always around us—sublimating the setting—waiting to be noticed, whether it is created from the careful hands of the artist or simply in the colorful leaf of a tree.

The Color of Water

2010-09-13T00:11:00.021+02:00

The water of Lake Atter (der Attersee) of Austria, which Gustav Klimt painted during one of his many visits (see previous post), showing the many beautiful colors the same water can reflect. Photos taken at different times from the same location.

"Insel im Attersee" Gustav Klimt 1900 "Attersee" Gustav Klimt 1901

Klimt and the Attersee

2010-09-06T22:02:00.008+02:00

Klimt and his viewfinder from the dock of the

Villa Paulick.

Lake Atter (der Attersee), situated in the Salzkammergut region in Alps of Austria, where the artist Gustav Klimt — known by many notably for his painting of The Kiss and his work with the Secession movement in Vienna — spent many of his summer holidays painting images of the lake and the scenery, and enjoying the crisp mountain air and fresh, clear water. Klimt was known to stay on the shore of the lake in the Villa Oleander, Villa Paulick, and Schloss Kammer in the company of his muse Emilie Flöge and a coterie of friends and artists. In his own words, from a letter dated August 1903:

"On my first days here I did not start work immediately but, as planned, I took it easy for a few days — flicked through books, studied Japanese art a little. In the early morning, during the day and in the evening I looked for motifs to paint in my landscapes with my 'viewfinder', which is a hole cut into a piece of cardboard, and found much or — if you will — nothing. Today I want to start working again in earnest — I'm looking forward to it because doing nothing does become rather boring after a while. Although even when I am being idle I have plenty of food for thought both early and late — thoughts both about and not about art. True relaxation, which would do me the world of good, does not exists for me. So we will continue to work away at another workshop in the sweet hope of achieving something — after all one can be full of hope as long as the canvases are blank white surfaces..."

"Litzlbergkeller am Attersee"
("Litzlbergkeller on Lake Atter")
Gustav Klimt 1915

The Litzlbergkeller today, a restaurant and
guesthouse

"Schloss Kammer am Attersee IV"
("Schloss Kammer on Lake Atter IV")
Gustav Klimt 1910

"Schloss Kammer am Attersee I"
("Schloss Kammer on Lake Atter I")
Gustav Klimt 1908

Schloss Kammer today, the host of a summer concert series;
originally built in 1260, renovated in the mid-1990s.

"Kirche in Unterach am Attersee"
("Church in Unterach on Lake Atter")
Gustav Klimt 1916

"Häusern in Unterach am Attersee"
("Houses in Unterach on Lake Atter")
Gustav Klimt 1916

Houses on Lake Atter

Architectural Textures

2010-08-21T20:20:00.022+02:00

Residence in the Alpine lake village of Schörfling

This summer, to recover from a lengthy trip visiting family in the States, we spent a few days visiting the crystal-clear water of Lake Atter (der Attersee, nestled in the picturesque and pristine Austrian Alps. On a particularly cool and overcast day, with the threat of

The Villa Paulick on Lake Atter

evening rain imminent, I decided to set out on a casual photo-walk up a sloping street into the sleepy village of Schörfling. While the tortes and coffee at Konditorei Ottet were my ultimate goal, I also wanted to enjoy the magnificent architectural details and textures on the homes and buildings along the way, which the residents seem to tend to with the same care and respect they provide for their natural surroundings.

The textures and details are ornate, yet always seem to be stylishly portrayed and deftly executed. Each design element is outstanding in its own way, but does not overwhelm the aesthetic whole. Nature is also a welcome addition adding a harmonic element to the aesthetic, in some places cultivated to the edge of wild abandon.

The promenade to Schörfling, along Lake Atter

From Schoerfling, Austria

See more photos of the Attersee.

Attention Suspension

2010-07-18T23:47:00.001+02:00

I create my entertainment
   as you create me

a glimpse of somewhere else
   of sometime else

alighting for a moment
   on fantasy

thoughts in transience,
   I move through
   collections of you

images embracing
   my mind,
subtleties of substance

subject to assertion and
   the expectation illusion

   I follow your dreams
everywhere they lead me

Needles Lost to Time

2010-06-01T13:57:00.006+02:00

Naglergasse, "Nailmaker's Lane", a curved, narrow side street in the Innere Stadt—the central and First District of Vienna.

The oldest part of the Vienna, the First District was contained by the fortified city walls until the former monarchy tore them down and expanded the city in the mid-1800s.

According to the historical site of the resident beer pub and restaurant Hopferl, records show the exciting fact that the guild of needlemakers was established along here as far back as 1378. The present name of the street, Naglergasse, is a mistaken alteration of the older use of the street: needle = Nadel and nail = Nagel.

The bend in the lane is said to date back to the boundary of the Roman city of Vindobona. The Romans established a camp here after conquering the resident Celts circa 6 CE, which grew into a sizeable fortress and city. Vindobona itself was in turn sacked and/or infiltrated by Germanic tribes, the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Huns, Lombards, Avars...

A Photo Diversion

2010-05-18T23:59:00.009+02:00

To work away the cold and rainy days of late here in Vienna, I have set up a new online photography portfolio at Photoshop.com.

If the weather where you are is as dreary as it has been here, or you're simply in the mood to sit back and browse, stop by and take a virtual trip around Europe, visiting its amazing architecture, street scenes and natural wonders, from the grand to the intimate.

Current Thoughts...

2010-04-15T23:51:00.007+02:00

...I look around me

And see no faults;

I hear your voices singing

With desires to unfold,

To which we sacrifice ourselves
For the mysteries of liberation.

(excerpt from the poem "Giving Liberties")

A Short Pause for Poetry:

2010-04-05T13:59:00.012+02:00

Past our fears our

Love’s desires

Reside in breathless wanting,

For more

Willkommen

2010-03-03T00:13:00.030+01:00

To invite, to protect or to display? Whether one can say they have elevated the ordinary or merely brought our attention down to the delicacies of detail, Viennese and European artists, artisans and architects have displayed an appreciation, an almost citywide celebration, of the functional aesthetics of unnecessity—an elevated appreciation of the otherwise simple and oft-overlooked.
Minimalist or ornate, structures from apartment buildings to offices to palaces have been adorned with the stylized, and idealized, aesthetic of their day, transforming an object of use to a display of art with their elegantly designed and detailed entrances.

View more photos of European entrances, inlcuding Paris, Vienna

and the Alpine countryside

All photos displayed above from Vienna: 1. Oskar Werner Hof 2. Lichtenfels Arcade, Franz Neumann 1878-80 3. Harry Lime's Doorway 4. Jugendstil Entrance, Julius Mayreder 1902 5. Laender Bank, Otto Wagner 1883-84 6. Vienna City Hall, Friedrich von Schmidt 1872-83 7. Apartment building, Franz Neumann 1894

Underground

2010-01-12T00:47:00.012+01:00

Current events, riding the underground in Vienna.

Left to right (click to enlarge): Golden adverts for classical concerts; Italian film retrospective at the Austrian Film Museum; Gender Check exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (in other words, that’s not Marilyn); exhitibion on Sitting Bull at the Museum of Ethnology in the Hofburg Palace.

Architectural Passage

2009-12-28T17:22:00.025+01:00

The Wollzeile Passage (Durchgang Wollzeile a.k.a. Figlmüller Durchgang) in Vienna, Austria: This pedestrian passageway runs through several buildings and two blocks, with numerous shops and restaurants delicately nestled underneath cozy balconies and apartments.

The passageway is unofficially named, in part, for the Figlmüller restaurant, boasting Vienna's biggest and "most famous" schnitzel since 1905 when it started out here as a cozy little wine tavern near the centrally-located, Gothic St. Stephan's cathedral.

As one enters at Lugeck Square and continues through the passageway, by the many curious boutiques and cafés, toward St. Stephan's encountered is the eponymous Wollzeile street, offering the dilemma of whether to continue on to more passageway adventures, or to the other delights winding through this oldest district of the city left and right.

View fullscreen

Stephanstag

2009-12-27T14:57:00.016+01:00

A visit inside the St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom)—in the center of the capital city of Vienna—on St. Stephen's Day (Stephanstag), an Austrian national holiday on the 26th of December. This Romanesque, Gothic cathedral was first consecrated in the year 1147, with many subsequent additions and restorations, and is situated to face the sunrise on this very day of the feast of St. Stephan. The architecture and people have come and gone through the centuries, wars and fires, changing the surrounding square, but St. Stephan's Cathedral remains as an anchor of faith and endurance.

View fullscreen

Perspectives

2009-12-21T16:55:00.015+01:00

Urban perspectives and natural-growth dichotomies in the layers of a city, in the center of Vienna.

Left to right:

~ Haas-Haus, architect Hans Hollein, 1990

~ St. Stephan's Cathedral (Stephansdom), first consecrated 1147

~ Haus "zur Weltkugel" and Haus "zum goldenen Becher" (with McDonald's and Money Exchange) Alexander Wielemans von Monteforte, 1897 & 1881-83, respectively.

It's all a blur...

2009-12-07T17:59:00.008+01:00

Enjoying the atmosphere of the imperfect—photographs of situationism and mood in the oasis of Aux Gazelles in the city of Vienna.